If you want to discover the captivating history of the Reconstruction Era and Gilded Age, then keep reading... Two captivating manuscripts in one book: The Reconstruction Era: A Captivating Guide to a Period in the History of the United States of America That Greatly Impacted American Civil Rights after the War for Southern Independence The Gilded Age: A Captivating Guide to an Era in American History That Overlaps the Reconstruction Era and Coincides with Parts of the Victorian Era in Britain along with the Belle Époque in France The US Civil War brought about a lot of change. The nation not only had to figure out how to become united once again, but it also had to figure out how to integrate the newly freed slaves into society. In addition, the country had to figure out how to recover from the war, which devastated the South and took many lives on both sides. President Abraham Lincoln favored a less punitive plan for reinstating the Confederate states back into the Union. Unlike other Republicans at the time, he did not think of these states as ever having left the Union. However, his plan never came to fruition. His assassination left the Reconstruction efforts in the hands of Andrew Johnson, a Democrat. Johnson wanted to make things easier for his fellow Democrats in the South. Knowing this, the Radical Republicans in Congress passed their own laws, overrode Johnson's vetoes, and eventually impeached him. Their plan for the South was punitive and harsh, as they expected total loyalty from any state wishing to rejoin the Union. In this book, you will learn about the significant players and laws. You will read about the carpetbaggers and scallywags who tried to make things better for blacks in the South while also seeking their own fortune. And perhaps most importantly, you will discover what happened to the freed slaves and how they found themselves living in a nation that promoted "separate but equal" legislation. Here are just some of the topics covered in part 1 of this book: The Civil War Lincoln's Vision The Wade-Davis Bill and the Radical Republicans The Thirteenth Amendment Presidential Reconstruction The Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Radical Reconstruction Carpetbaggers and Scallywags, 1867 The Fourteenth Amendment, 1868 The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 1868 The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870 The Ku Klux Klan Act, 1871 The Civil Rights Act of 1875 The Compromise of 1877 The Official End of the Reconstruction After the Reconstruction Plessy v. Fergus